Abstract 107: Dextromethorphan/Quinidine for Treatment of Pseudobulbar Affect Secondary to Stroke: Results from the PRISM-II Study

Introduction: Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is characterized by sudden, frequent, uncontrollable laughing/crying episodes that are out of proportion or disconnected from mood or social context. PRISM-II evaluated dextromethorphan/quinidine (DM/Q) effectiveness for PBA secondary to stroke (reported here), dementia, or traumatic brain injury.

Hypothesis: DM/Q is effective and well tolerated for PBA secondary to neurologic disease such as stroke.

Methods: Open-label, 12-week, US multicenter trial of DM/Q 20/10 mg twice/day (starting once/day in week 1). Eligible patients had PBA with Center for Neurologic Study-Lability Scale (CNS-LS) ≥13 (range 7-35), were ≥3 months post-stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) and neurologically stable. Primary endpoint: CNS-LS change at Day 90/early withdrawal; secondary endpoints: PBA episode count, CGI-C, PGI-C, PHQ-9, QOL-VAS, patient satisfaction, MMSE, Stroke Impact Scale, and adverse events.

Results: 113 enrolled; 91 (80.5%) completed. CNS-LS improved by mean [95% CI] -7.6 [-9.0, -6.2] points at Day 90/endpoint from baseline mean (SD) of 20.8 (4.7), P<.001 vs baseline. PBA baseline mean (SD) weekly episode count of 19.6 (29.6) was reduced by 75.5% at Day 90/endpoint (P<.001 vs baseline). Patients or clinicians reported “much” or “very much” improvement with respect to PBA in 67.7% (PGI-C) and 75.0% (CGI-C) of patients. Improvements were also seen for PHQ-9, QOL-VAS and MMSE. All Stroke Impact Scale domain scores improved vs baseline (P=.02 to P<.001); Adverse events were reported by 40 (35.4%), assessed as treatment-related in 16 (14.2%), and led to discontinuation in 6 (5.3%).

Conclusion: Consistent with the approved indication, DM/Q improved PBA symptoms, reduced frequency of PBA episodes and was well tolerated in patients with PBA secondary to stroke. CNS-LS change from baseline was similar to that seen with DM/Q in a Phase 3 trial in ALS or MS (mean change [95% CI] -8.2 [-9.4, -7.0]) and greater than improvement with placebo in that trial (mean change -5.7[-6.8,-4.7]). DM/Q was associated with global clinical improvements (PGI-C, CGI-C), along with improvements in cognition, depressive symptoms, stroke-related function and quality of life. Supported by: Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Pseudobulbar affect: burden of illness in the USA

INTRODUCTION

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is characterized by involuntary and uncontrollable laughing and/or crying episodes, occurring secondary to neurological disease or injury. The impact of PBA on social and occupational function, health status, quality of life (QOL), and quality of relationships (QOR) is not well studied.

METHODS

This US survey conducted by Harris Interactive compared health status and daily function of patients with and without PBA. Eligible respondents were Harris Panel Online registrants previously diagnosed with stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or primary, nonpaid caregivers for such patients who were too debilitated to participate. PBA was identified by a Center for Neurologic Study lability scale score of 13 or greater. Measures included the 36-item short form health survey (SF-36), the work productivity and impairment (WPAI) questionnaire, visual analog scales (VAS) for impact of PBA symptoms on QOL and QOR, and customized questions related to burden and impact of involuntary laughing/crying episodes on patients' lives. Survey responses were weighted to adjust for the relative proportion of the primary neurological conditions in the overall population and between group differences in patient age and gender. PBA and non-PBA group responses were compared using two-tailed t tests adjusted for severity of the primary neurological conditions.

RESULTS

The 1,052 respondents included 399 PBA group participants and 653 controls. The PBA group showed significantly worse scores versus non-PBA controls on component and summary SF-36 scores (P<0.05 for all), VAS scores (P<0.05 for both), and WPAI scores (P<0.05). Among PBA group respondents, PBA contributed a great deal to or was the main cause of patients becoming housebound for 24% and being moved to supervised living placement for 9% of respondents.

CONCLUSION

PBA is associated with considerable burden incremental to that of the underlying neurological conditions, affecting QOL, QOR, health status, and social and occupational functioning.